Whip stock



yIVlalrc'h 22,-1938. y w. E. WILLIAMS I 2,111,881

IN VEN TOR.

BY i

ATTORNEYS.

March 22, 1938-.v w E; WILUAMS 2,111,881

wH-IP STOCK Filed oct. 18, 1957' 2 sheets-Sheet 2' ATTORNEYS.

Patented Mar. 22, 193s I 111,881`

UNITED s'rtAres WHIP STOCK l i william E. williamaraducah, Tex.Application October 18, 1937, Serial No. 169,696 I s claims. (ci.c55- 1) This invention relatesto a whipstock of the Figure 9 is asection on line 9 9, Figure 1.

full hole type by the use of which it becomes Y Figure 10 is asection online lil-ill, Figure l. possible to drill around a lost tool vor thelike Referring to the figures by characters of refwithin a partlycompleted well, all danger of the erence I designates the elongatedupper mem- 5 drilling tool working back into the original hole ber ofthe whipstock provided with a transversely to a point above theobstruction' being elimiconcave channel 2 which gradually increases innated. 'depth from a point adjacent to the lower end A further object isto eliminate the usual pracof said member upwardly to the upper endtheretice of cementing the hole. of so that said upper end thus canconstitute pf() A still further object is to provide a whipstock a seatfor the lower end oi a drill pipe 3 adapted l0 which can be readilylowered to the proper point to be fastened thereto by a screw dconstituting in the hole and there anchored and released, the f a shearpin. When the pipe is attached to the whipstock, when brought to itsultimatel posiwhipstock, it is substantially coaxial therewith tion,operating as an eiicient deecting means as will be noted by referring toFigure 1.

5 for the drill or bit whereby it will bedirected lat- The lower end ofthe upper section I is beveled l5 erally to form a continuation of theupper porat approximately thirty degrees as shown at 5 tion of the holedownwardly past the obstructionA and formed with a longitudinaldove-tailed in the original hole. groove l open at its upper end whileits lower With the foregoing and other objects in view end is normallyclosed by a block 1 held in place -go which will appear as thedescription proceeds, by a tie-pin 8 extending transversely there- 20the invention consists of 'certain novel details through and through thewalls of the slot. f of construction and combinations of parts here- Theupper member l has lock blocks 9 tted inafter more fully described andpointed out in in the sides of its tapered end portion and adapted theclaims, it being understood that changes may to lap the attened sides Iof the lower member g be made in the construction and arrangement ll ofthe whipstock, there being shoulders I2 25 of parts without departingfrom the spirit of the formed at the lower ends of these flattened faceslinvention as claimed.` Ill constituting abutments for the blocks 3 whenIn the accompanying drawings the preferred the upper memberl slidesdownwardly to a preform of the invention has been shown. determinedpoint relative to the lower mem- In said drawings ber Ii. 30 Figure 1 isa view partly in section and partly The upper end of thelower member 1Iis bevin elevation, showing the whipstock positioned eled as at 13 toconstitute a bearing for the bevin a hole directly above the obstructionand imeled end 5 of the upper member I. There is a mediately prior tobeing anchored and set in the diierence in pitch of approximately twodegrees hole. between these two beveled faces so that the up- Figure 2is a view partly in elevation and partly per member l is thus permittedto have a. limited in section of portions of the whipstock followingrocking movementl relative to the lower member the operation ofanchoring it in the hole. II. There is formed on the beveled end I3 aFigure 3 is a view partly in elevation and partly dovetail M which isloosely tted in the dove- .;0 in section showing the upper portion ofthe whiptal groove 6 so as to slide therein and have a 4o stock after ithas been set in its nal or ultilimited rocking movement. Normally thelower mate position preparatory'to the continuation end ofthe dovetailI4 bears against the block 1 of the drilling operation. as shown inFigure 4 and a shear pin l5, which Figure 4 is a vertical'sectionthrough the meetis engagediin the lower beveled end of mem- .15 ingportions of the upper and lower members of ber i, locks the upper end ofthe dovetail It so the whipstock, the samev being shown in their as toprevent relative sliding movement of the initial or normal positionsrelative to each other, two beveled ends.

said section being'taken in a plane extending The lower member II of thewhipstock is transversely of Figure 1. formed with an axial bore 16 thelower portion Figure 5 is an elevationof the lower end porof which iscounterbored as at Il. A stem I8 50 tion of the upper member of thewhipstocl r is slidable within the bore I6 and counterbore `Figure 6 isan elevation of the upper end por- I1 and is provided at its lower endwith a spear tion of the lower member of the whipstock. head I9 formedwithflexible upwardly diverging Figure 7 is a section on line '1 -1,Figure '1. arms 20. A collar 2l is secured to the stem I8 Figure 8 is asection'on line 8 8, Figure l. andA slidable within the counterboreyI'I, there `55 being a coiled spring 22 in the counterbore andinterposed between collar 2l and a thrust ring 23 at the inner end ofthe counterbore. The spring is held normally under compression and thecollar 2l and stem It! is held normally against downward movementrelative to member II by a shear pin 24 which is extended through thewall of the counterbore I'I and into position under the collar 2|, asshown in Figure 1.

Radial slots 25 are provided in the lower end of member II andcommunicate with the lower end of the counterbore I'I. In each of theseslots there is located a pivot pin 2S on which is mounted a dog 21 whichhas a pointed portion 28 normally extending downwardly beyond the memberIl. A lug 29 is extended upwardly from each dog under normal conditionsand into the path of the collar 2l, as shown in Figure l.

Assuming that a tool or other obstruction T has been lost in the lowerportion of a hole H and it is desired to continue the drilling of thewell by extending the hole around the obstruction, the parts o thewhipstock are all assembled as shown in Figure 1 with the several shearpins in position. The whipstock is then lowered gradually into the hole,the exible arms 29 of the spear head wiping downwardly along opposedportions of the hole-until the spear head has reached a point close tothe upper end of 'the obstruction T. During the lowering of thewhipstock the two members I and II have been coaxial wth the pipe 3 sothat the tool has been properly centered within the hole. When thewhipstock is brought to desired positions it is given an upward pull andthis will cause the arms 26 of the spear head to bite into the wall ofthe hole and resist the upward movement of stem I8. As pin 2li is not asstrong as pins It and I5, the resistance thus encountered will cause thecollar 2l to shear oi the inwardly projecting end of pin 2Q with theresult that the spring 22 will project collar 2I downwardly and causethe dogs 2l to swing outwardly into the 'wall-of the hole as shown inFigure 2 where they will be locked securely by the collar 2l which, atthis time, becomes seated on the lugs or projections 29. The dogs are ofcourse limited in their upward movement under these conditions by theupper walls of the slots in which they are located. This action resultsin the firm anchoring of the member II within the hole H. The next stepconsists in relieving the member I from the pull exerted through pipe 3so that the weight of this member' I and the pipe will be sufficient toshear off pin I5 and cause the lower beveled end 5 of member I to slidedownwardly along the upper beveled end I3 of member II. This movementwill continue until member I wedges between the wall of hole H and theupper portion of member II, as shown in Figure 3. This relative movementwill be limited by the blocks 9 coming against the shoulders I2. As thepitch of@ the two beveled ends is not the same, the upper member II isfree to rock slightly relative to member I so that it can assume aninclined position in the hole with its lower end thrusting tightlyagainst the wall of the hole at onepoint while the upper end will bearoutwardly against 5 the wall of the hole at a point on a linediametrically opposite the lower point of contact.

After member I has thus been placed, the pipe il is forced downwardlywith sufcient force not only to tightly wedge the parts in the hole butalso to'shear off the pins @l after which pipe 3 can be removed from thehole and the usual drilling tool or bit inserted in the hole. As thistool comes against the yconcave surface or channel 2 of the upper memberI, it will be deflected within the hole H so as to drill into the wallof the hole and ultimately downwardly past the obstruction T so that thedrilling of the well thus can be completed.

What is claimed is:

1. A whipstock including an upper member having an obliquely disposeddeflecting surface,l

a lower member, anchoring means for the lower member, said membershaving abutting beveled ends, means joining said ends to permit relativesliding and tilting movement thereof, and a pin engaging the two membersfor holfing them normally against relative sliding movement, said pinbeing proportioned to shear oi'when subjected tioned to shear oi whensubjected to a predetermined-weight from the upper member, andcooperating means on the members for limiting the sliding movement ofthe upper member when released from the sheared pin.

3. A whipstock including an upper member having an obliquely disposeddeflecting surface, a lower member, anchoring means for the lowermember, said members having abutting beveled ends, a tiltable andslidable dovetail connection between the vbeveled ends of the members, ashear pin normally engaging both members for holding them againstrelative sliding movement, said pin being proportioned to shear ofi?under the predetermined weight applied thereto through the upper member,and cooperating means on said members for hunting the sliding movementof the lupper member when released from the shear pin.

4. A whipstock including an upper member having an obliquely disposeddelecting surface, i

a lower member, anchoring means for the lower member, said membershaving abutting beveled ends, a tiltable and slidable dovetailconnection between the beveled 'ends of the members, a shear pinnormally engaging both members for holding them against relative slidingmovement. said pin being proportioned to shear oi under thepredetermined weight applied thereto through the upper member, andcooperating means on said members for limiting the sliding movement ofthe upper member when released from the shear pin, said means includinglock blocks carried by and projecting from the upper member at thebeveled end thereof, and stop shoulders on the lower member forengagement by the blocks.

5. A whipstock including an upper member having an obliquely disposeddeecting surface, a lower member, anchoring means for the lower member,said members having abutting beveled ends, means joining said ends topermit relative sliding and tilting movement, a shear pin engaging themembers for holding them normally against sliding movement relative toeach other, said pin being proportioned to shear oi under a.predetermined weight transmitted thereto from the upper member, a drillpipe, a shear pin connecting said drill pipe to the upper member and ofgreater strength than the first named shear pin butproportioned to shearoff whensubjecteg to excessive pressure from the drill pipe.

6. A whipstock including an upper member having an obliquely disposeddelecting surface, a lower member, anchoring means for the lower member,a shear.` pin for holding the anchoring means normally retracted, afriction device car,- ried by the anchoring means, said members havingabutting beveled ends, means joining said ends to permit relativesliding and tilting movement, ashear pin engaging the two members forholding them normally against relative sliding movement', means forlowering and raising vthe whipstock in a hole, and a third shear pinconnecting said means to the upper member of the whipstock, all of theshear ypins being so proportioned that when the whipstock is pulledupwardly against the action of the shear pin of the anchoring means willbe severed, and when the upper member of the whipstock is moveddownwardly relative to the lower member, the shear pin `connecting thesame will be severed, and when the Whipstock lowering means is thrustdownwardly relative to the anchored whipstock, theshear pin connectiontherefor will be severed.

7. A whipstock,including an upper member having a'n Aobliquely disposeddeecting surface, a lower member, said members having'abutting thefriction means.-

, mally engaging the shear pin to hold the 4springactuated stem againstmovement relative to the actuation by said meanson the stem intoposition within the wall of said' hole.

8. A Whipstock including an upper member Y' having an obliquelydisposeddefiecting surface, a

lower member, said membershaving abutting beveled ends, means forslidably and tiltably connecting the beveled ends, a stem slidablymounted in 'the lower member, friction means carried thereby forengagement with the wall of a hole in which the whipstock is seated,dogs pivotally connected to the lower member, a shear pin in saidV lowermember, a spring in said member and normally under compression, andmeans on the pin for severing thestem when the stem and -lower member,said dogs being positioned forv lower member are subjected to excessiveresistance to movement in one direction, said means being shiftable bythe spring to project the dogs into the wall of the hole, and means onthe dogs cooperating with said means on the ^stem t'o lock the dogs inprojected positions.

E. WILLIAMS.

